Nutritional health is achieved through the therapeutic use of whole foods, safe culinary preparation, and understanding the metabolic impacts of specific dietary frameworks and ingredients.
Crisp and juicy, cucumbers are the basis of a good pickle, but they are also commonly eaten raw. A warm weather vegetable, cucumbers have a refreshing taste and can be easily added to sandwiches or salads to provide extra nutrition and a crunchy texture.
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Goji berries are now widely available in many health food and specialty food stores, although they used to be available only in Asian groceries. Used in Chinese medicine for over 6,000 years, goji berries are most commonly sold dried, although there are now goji berry juices and extracts.
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Splenda, the brand name for the sugar substitute sucralose, is found in packets to add to tea or coffee, and is also added to many diet soft drinks, chewing gums, juices and even health bars.
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Also known as the prickly pear cactus, nopal cactus is a type of fruit common in North American deserts and throughout Mexico. Nopal can be eaten fresh, canned or dried, and its light, slightly sour flavor lends the fruit well to sweet and savory preparations.
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Palm oil can be of two varieties: palm oil, made from palm fruit, or palm kernel oil, made from the seed inside the fruit. Both types are rich-tasting and common in tropical climates, such as in India and Malaysia.
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Groundnuts, more commonly known as peanuts, are a legume that can be processed into an oil. Groundnut oil is made by pressing harvested groundnuts, which are rich in fat -- containing 40 to 50 percent fat. Like other plant-based oils, groundnut oil contains no cholesterol.
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Gluten is a protein naturally found in wheat, rye, barley and malt. People who suffer from celiac disease or gluten sensitivity need to be careful about the dishes they choose when eating Chinese food, as gluten is commonly added to processed foods as a binding agent.
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Made from a young grass originating from the wheat family, wheatgrass juice is a dietary supplement. Many health food aficionados praise wheatgrass juice and its purported health benefits, such as boosting your immune system.
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Spongy, flat and dotted with tiny holes, injera is a traditional African flatbread served in both Ethiopia and Eritrea. Injera is served alongside various meat and vegetable stews and is used to scoop up pieces of food with your hands, as well as soak up the sauces part of every Ethiopian and Eritrean meal.
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Also known as country sausage, breakfast sausage is usually made from fresh ground pork. Served in patties or in links, the sausage is often lightly seasoned. It was traditionally a way to make use of “off cuts” or scraps of meat left over from butchering.
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Throughout the West Indies, and especially Jamaica, people use fever grass tea as an herbal remedy for colds, coughs and lowering fevers. Fever grass is the Jamaican name for lemongrass, and the tea is made from either fresh or dried “leaves” from the stalk of the plant; these are then cut into smaller pieces.
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Graying hair, hair that loses its natural pigmentation and turns white or gray, is a natural process in aging. However, it can also be affected by your diet. Vitamin B-12 is an essential vitamin, and while gray hair is not one of the primary symptoms of low vitamin B-12 in your system, it can cause graying hair.
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Aloe vera has been used for centuries as a topical skin treatment. Common in Indian and Southeast Asian cuisines, aloe can also be eaten, either cooked or raw. The pale green “skin” of the stalks hides the clear “meat” inside the leaves, as well as the natural gel the plant produces, both of which are edible.
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Himalayan rock salt is also known as pink rock salt because of its distinctive pale pink color. Mined in Pakistan, Himalayan rock salt is a naturally occurring salt rich in a number of minerals.
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The majority of the spice from hot peppers comes from a plant compound called capsaicin. The most obvious indicator of capsaicin's presence is the burning, tingling sensation it produces on your skin or tongue when you touch or eat hot peppers.
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Sugar cane juice is made by crushing the fibrous insides of sugar cane stalks. This releases the natural sap of the plant, which is then filtered for impurities and drunk as is. Sugar cane juice is drunk around the world, although it is most common in Central and South America and Southeast Asia.
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Olives, whether green or black, are rich in healthy fats. With their salty taste and meaty texture, they qualify as a low-calorie snack. All olives must be cured before they can be eaten; fully ripe olives turn a black color, while unripe olives are cured while still green.
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Ghee, also known as desi ghee, clarified butter or anhydrous butter oil, is a common ingredient in traditional Indian cooking. It is used to sauté spices, coat rice before cooking, and brown and sear meats.
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Beets are usually roasted or boiled and eaten cooked, although you can shave them raw and add them to salads. Raw beets can also be made into a fresh juice using a juicer, extracting the nutrients from the root vegetable. This makes for an easy way to consume the health benefits of beets.
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With its spicy taste and exotic scent, you might associate ginger with traditional cuisine from Southeast Asia, such as Thai curries or stir-fries.
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